>Fasting in the Orthodox Church consists of absistence from certain foodstuffs - All meat, egg and dairy products, all backboned fish (meaning only shellfish are permitted), oil (generally Olive oil, however many Orthodox abstain from all oils) and wine (many Orthodox abstain from all alcohols as well). All Wednesdays and Fridays are fast days in the Church, in honor of Jesus's Crucifixion and Judas's betrayel, and many fast on Mondays as well, in honor of the angels. There are also four periods of fasting throughout the Orthodox year - the Apostle's fast, from the week after Pentecost until the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul (one to three weeks), the Dormition fast, for 25 days until the Feast of the Dormition, the Nativity fast, for.forty days until Christmas, and Great Lent, for 60 days until Easter. Great Lent is considered the "fast of fasts", where consumption of food is greatly restrained as well, many Orthodox will only eat one meal a day consisting of basic foodstuffs - soup, bread and peanut butter would be one parishioner's menu. However, there are also certain rules. Sundays are never fast days, regardless of which period of the year they fall on. The weeks after Easter, Pentecost and the Nativity have no fasting. On certain feast days of great Saints, fasting rules may be relaxed, wine and oil for instance may be permitted - such are dictated in the Menaion. Additionally, humility is considered more important than fasting - for instance, if someone offers a dairy product it is considered better to accept the product than to tell them that you are fasting.
My mind is fucked. Are there any simple guides as to when to fast and when not?